Janosik clutch for Lady Red Devils
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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
EBENSBURG -- Inside pitches have been giving Central Cambria's Olivia Janosik fits recently, and after popping up in her first at bat Wednesday, she was forced to swing at one with a full count and her team down a run in the fourth inning.
This time she made the adjustment she's been working toward and lifted the pitch over the fence for a game-tying home run.
With the game tied again in the bottom of the seventh inning, Janosik came up again with plenty of confidence and saw a pitch she knew exactly what to do with and sent it over the fence again for a walk-off 5-4 triumph over Tyrone.
"It was right down the middle," Janosik said. "My eyes got big, and I just knew it was going over the fence. It feels pretty good. I think we're going to be a really solid team once playoffs come around."
The Lady Devils improved to 13-2 thanks to Janosik's heroics, which started with finally breaking though against a pitch in a location that has been bothering her.
"It felt pretty good to hit an inside pitch," Janosik said. "I haven't been able to turn on it and get enough of it in play and get it far enough that it doesn't get me out. Hitting that home run relaxed me."
Central Cambria had blown a 4-1 lead when Tyrone scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning with the help of a couple infield singles and an error.
"It was a very gutsy win for our girls, and I'm proud of the way they battled," Central Cambria coach Steve Ruddek said. "They didn't let the mistakes they made get to them. Liv is a prime example of that, because she had a couple mistakes in that sixth inning where Tyrone was able to battle back into it, but she stayed focused on what she needed to do when she got a chance with her bat."
Janosik's second home run made Kami Kamzik the winning pitcher. Kamzik allowed a leadoff double to Beth Pearson before three straight groundouts, the second of which drove home Pearson. She responded by striking out 11 of the next 12 Lady Eagle batters.
"She's an incredible pitcher and a great bat too," Ruddek said. "It gives our girls a little bit of relief knowing that they can lean on her, and we do lean on her. She's a great player, and we're trying to build the best team around her that we can."
Pearson's double put Tyrone ahead, 1-0, through the first three innings.
"Beth Pearson hit that big double to lead off the game, and it gave confidence to our dugout that we could do this," Tyrone coach Doug Myers said. "She's been so great all year. To get that first run was huge, because we faced (Kamzik) in the winter, and she shut us down pretty good."
With the game tied at one in the bottom of the fifth inning, Alyssa Link led off with a single and Karlie Heeney reached on a bunt single despite a tremendous diving effort by Tyrone first baseman Maecy Tuskovich. Tyrone intentionally walked Kamzik to load the bases (she received three intentional walks in four plate appearances), and Aubrey Ruddek responded with a two-run double. Central Cambria added another run on a wild pitch.
"I would like to be more consistent both with our fielding and hitting," Ruddek said. "We're rounding into shape again. We were jumping on teams early at the start of the season, and we need to get back to having a more consistent offense."
Kaleigh Brodzina led off the sixth with a bunt single for Tyrone, Madelyn Rockwell singled to left and Pearson singled up the middle to bring home Brodzina. Maci Brodzina reached on an infield single to bring home another run, and Tuskovich reached on an error to tie the game, but Brodzina was thrown out at home.
Earlier this week, Tyrone defeated Clearfield and its top pitcher, Emma Hipps -- who, along with Kamzik, are two of the best in the circle in the area.
"Obviously, we're never satisfied with losing, but we have to leave here feeling pretty good about how we approached our at bats against a great pitcher," Myers said. "We don't want to ever accept losing, but we have to understand that we grew as a team today. If we're focused on the game and confident, we know we have a chance to win against anybody we play."
TYRONE (4): Pearson c 322, M. Brodzina ss 301, M. Tuskovich 1b 300, Beeman lf 300, Sa. Shaw dp 300, Su. Shaw flex-p 000, T. Tuskovich cf 300, Lingenfelter rf 300, K. Brodzina 2b 311, Rockwell 3b 211. Totals--26-4-5.
CENTRAL CAMBRIA (5): Kamzik p 100, Blasko cr 010, A. Ruddek c 401, Janosik 1b 422, Krawcion lf 300, Burkett ss 301, M. Ruddek 3b 301, Rozsi dp 200, K. Link flex-2b 000, A. Link rf 311, Heeney cf 111. Totals--24-5-7.
SCORE BY INNINGS
Tyrone 100 003 0--4 5 2
Central Cambria 000 130 1--5 7 1
2B--Pearson, Burkett, A. Ruddek. HR--Janosik 2. RBI--M. Tuskovich 2, Pearson, M. Brodzina, A. Ruddek 2, Janosik 2. WP--Kamzik. LP--Su. Shaw. SO--Kamzik 12, Su. Shaw 4. BB--Su. Shaw 4.
Umpires: Alex Fedor (plate); Don Moss (bases).
Records: Tyrone (7-6); Central Cambria (13-2).